[Quqnoos] President Karzai expressed regret over the refusal of his 10 Cabinet nominees by Parliament on Saturday. President Hamid Karzai's office issued a brief statement saying he had chosen the nominees "based on their talents, expertise and national participation" and regretted the outcome.
The Afghan lawmakers approved only seven of 17 nominees, including Karzai's longtime national security adviser Zalmay Rasoul as foreign minister. The lawmakers also confirmed a new justice minister and a woman as minister of Work and Social Affairs but rejected two other women nominees.
Two weeks ago, parliament rejected 70 percent of Karzai's first Cabinet picks, forcing him to present a second list.
President Karzai is trying to have a functioning Cabinet before attending the international conference on Afghanistan scheduled for Jan 28 in London. Nevertheless, the statement added that the President respects the decision of the parliament.
Lawmakers complained that some of the Cabinet nominees lacked the credentials to serve. Others claimed that some nominees are closely aligned with warlords and were chosen to pay back political supporters who helped get the president re-elected.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak)] Defence of Human Rights Pakistan Chairperson Amna Masood Janjua has said that the success of a US NGO in getting the names of the Bagram Airbase detainees published has established that the Foreign Ministry is "completely inefficient and insincere" in sorting out the issue of missing persons.
Talking to The News on Sunday, she said the list issued by the US Defence Department in response to a freedom of information lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was incomplete and neither contained parental nor nationality details of the detainees.
She said at the moment, it was the responsibility of the government and the Foreign Office to get completed the details of these detainees and all the others detained in innumerable detentions and prisons in Afghanistan.
Please present a list of said detentions and prisons that they might be investigated by the proper authorities. Thank you.
She said it was true that in the past, many Pakistanis went to Afghanistan with the nod of some institutions.
Oh? Which institutions might those be?
She said it should be understood that the Afghan war was over
It is? Then why do the Taliban keep crossing the border in order to commit miscreancy?
and there was no harm in making efforts to bring the detained Pakistanis back, most of whom had gone there with the consent of the institutions.
The traditional Afghan method to achieve this particular objective is for the relatives to pay a large ransom to the local imprisoning organization.
She said if the Foreign Ministry succeeded in getting the details of these detainees completed, the problem of missing persons could be resolved. On the other hand, the inefficiency of departments was at its peak on Sunday when various officials in different government departments were calling the media people and Amna Masood Janjua to know about the address of the website, which contained the list of the Bagram detainees.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
detainees has majority of Pakistanis
Not a surprise to Rantburg readers. The Afghan War should really be name The War of Northern Pakistani Aggression.
Posted by: ed ||
01/18/2010 15:43 Comments ||
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Hamza Andreas Tzortzis will address the University College London Islamic Society on 28 January in a talk entitled "21st century misconceptions of Islam answered."
Mr Tzortzis, a Greek convert, was a trustee of Green Crescent, a British charity placed under investigation by the Charity Commission for links with Islamist terrorism. He resigned his trusteeship after Green Crescent's head, Faisal Mostafa, was arrested and charged with terrorism offences in Bangladesh following the discovery of arms caches at a school run by the charity.
Dr Mostafa has twice stood trial - and been cleared - on terrorism charges in Britain. In 2008, however, he was given a two-year suspended sentence after attempting to board an aeroplane at Manchester airport with a pistol in his suitcase.
How is it he was permitted a pistol, never mind that he was carrying it aboard an airplane?
Mr Tzortzis, although never personally accused of terrorist offences, has called for an Islamic state, expressed his hostility towards Western values and stated that: "We as Muslims reject the idea of freedom of speech, and even of freedom."
Then do shut up, please.
He is rather asking for it, isn't he ...
He is a former researcher for the hardline Hittin Institute and chaired the launch event of iERA, an umbrella organisation hosting many well-known British Muslim extremists who preach opposition to democracy and hatred against homosexuals and Jews. He also has links to the extremist and separatist group Hizb ut Tahrir, which advertises some of his talks on its website.
The UCL Islamic Society was previously chaired by the Detroit bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who security sources say began his journey to radicalisation during his time as a student in London.
Yes, well, we've all been struggling to figure out how that happened.
Among the other radical speakers being hosted by the society next week are Saleem Chagtai, whose blog has called for "offensive jihad" to bring about the "glorious sharia," and Haitham al-Haddad, who has described music as a "prohibited and fake message of love and peace." The week of events, entitled "Islam Awareness Week," is a successor to the "War on Terror Week" organised by Abdulmutallab during his time at UCL.
Last week, The Daily Telegraph reported that senior US government officials accused Britain of not doing enough to tackle extremism, saying the UK has the West's "greatest concentration of active al-Qaeda supporters."
Mr Tzortzis said that he was "shocked" by Dr Mostafa's arrest and said while he was involved with it, Green Crescent had had nothing to do with terrorism. He added: "As can be seen from my work, I am all for positive discussion and dialogue and instead of having a form of soundbite journalism we need a more nuanced debate."
#1
I am all for positive discussion and dialogue and instead of having a form of soundbite journalism we need a more nuanced debate."
Yada, yada, yada taquiya. Love the "soundbite" kaboooom of "work-related accidents" tho'.
Posted by: Oscar ||
01/18/2010 10:58 Comments ||
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#5
has called for an Islamic state, expressed his hostility towards Western values and stated that: "We as Muslims reject the idea of freedom of speech, and even of freedom."
At least he is honest. People in England need to go and listen to what he says. They need to post his speech in all the papers. They have to then choose their future. England needs to let him speak and put him on all the TV station. They just might wake up and see their future...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/18/2010 11:48 Comments ||
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Following recent European moves to ban certain Muslim practices, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is seeking a ban on burqa and other face-covering veils worn by some Muslim women.
The leader of UKIP's 13 lawmakers in the European Parliament, Nigel Farage, told the BBC's 'Politics Show' on Sunday that his party was seeking the ban on the grounds that the burqa "oppressed" women, while symbolizing an "increasingly divided Britain."
They also suggested that attire could pose a potential security threat.
In late November last year, Switzerland became the first European country to ban a Muslim practice, when a double majority voted "yes" to a referendum seeking a ban on the construction of minarets -- a distinct characteristic of Islamic architecture added to Mosques.
This is while in France, which has been seeking its own ban on the burqa, a national debate on French identity promoted by President Nikolas Sarkozy raised eyebrows.
The pressure has sparked concerns among Muslim minorities across Europe.
The British movement has, however, met with some opposition, with Schools Secretary Ed Balls saying it was "not British" to tell people what to wear in the street, and accused UKIP of indulging in "unpleasant politics."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The UKIP demonstrates that the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
01/18/2010 0:12 Comments ||
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#2
The UKIP demonstrates that the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.
1) The UKIP is not the British National Party
2) If you allow the burka then women are pressured to wear it (wear it or else...) and their male relatives are threatened to be considered apostates. You know what happens to apostates.
3) Great numbers of woemn wearing burka are a way to intimidate non-muslims and the British government: "see how numerous we are and how string is our control you wouldn't want to sen troops to Afganistan, allow such anti-Islam activist to visit UK, allow cartoons of Muhammad. This could cause riots you know"
And don't tell me about Freedom of religion: same way we wouldn't allow the Aztec cult, Kali cult or the burning of widows we may ban the burka ad perhaps Islam itself. If teh Founding Fathers had had to deal with one of the above the wording of First Amendment would be very different.
#3
Good. Don't know why but I had a dream last night that Vice President Biden's wife converted to Islam and was wearing a hijab on TV. Better than a burqa I suppose...
Fyi for the site administrator--the "Your Name" field of the comment submission window automatically populated with "Vortigern Thising4238" and said I have commented 234 times, which is not the case... So I filled in my "real" info instead.
Posted by: American Delight ||
01/18/2010 7:35 Comments ||
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#4
Maybe instead of banning a item of clothing worn by a fraction of women, they should target the men who advocate murder and terrorism and recruit men to go kill/get killed while they safely live on the dole.
#5
Maybe instead of banning a item of clothing worn by a fraction of women, they should target the men who advocate murder and terrorism and recruit men to go kill/get killed while they safely live on the dole.
Never told that we should stop at banning the burqa. I think ban the burqa and not stop at it. However it sends an ideological signal and WOT is primarily an ideological war.
For the burqa it is not apiece of cloth:Â I have heard of a cleaning woman in Spain of Magrab ascent who goes to work fully veiled and removes her veil as soon as the door closes behind her. She explained to her employer that she hated it but that she like may other Magrebi women in Spain had had to wear it out of fear of being attacked by islamists in the distrct where she lives.
#6
4 Maybe instead of banning a item of clothing worn by a fraction of women, they should target the men who advocate murder and terrorism and recruit men to go kill/get killed while they safely live on the dole.
Not a bad idea. Burqa-clad women are more likely to "belong" to men who advocate murder and terrorism.. More likely to be the spouse of, or related to, an islamist. It is, more often than not, a sign of abuse; much like a black eye or bruises. Women who do not wish to wear a burqa are forced to by spouses and family - on the threat of violence or even death. Ban the burqa. Then arrest the male(s) responsible for enforcing the wearing of the garment and jail them whenever a burqa-wearing women is seen. Spousal abuse. Mental abuse. Forcible confinement. etc. Family violence. Death threats. Got to be something actionable in there. Very few women want to be smothered under the weight of this manmade mobile prison. Just can't say so under penalty of harm or death.
Take a peek under the burqa and find the terrorized women underneath. Then follow her home and check on the "family values" for arrests. Going to need safe houses however. The burqa-demanding islamists are a violently insane bunch.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says that the United States has taken advantage of the massive quake in Haiti and deployed troops in the country.
"What is happening in Haiti seriously concerns me as US troops have already taken control of the airport," Ortega said on Saturday.
The Pentagon says it has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers in Haiti to help victims of Tuesday's earthquake. This is while US paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division took control of the main airport in the capital Port-au-Prince on Friday three days after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake brought death and misery to the impoverished nation.
The leftist Nicaraguan president denounced Washington's move in deploying military forces in Haiti, saying "It seems that the bases (on Latin America) are not sufficient."
"There is no logic that US troops landed in Haiti. Haiti seeks humanitarian aid, not troops. It would be madness we all began to send troops to Haiti," said Ortega. "I hope they will withdraw troops occupying Haiti."
Earlier on Thursday, Nicaragua sent 31 military doctors of the Humanitarian Rescue Unit (URH) and humanitarian aid for the victims of the calamity. The latest death toll from the Haitian government is at least 50,000 people dead and 1.5 million homeless.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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#4
If we are going to blow all this cash on rescuing Haitians from themselves every 10 years or so, we ought to simply own the place.
Posted by crosspatch 2010-01-18 04:41|| 2010-01-18 04:41|
#5
I understand the source but his s**t really twists my knickers. I want a president that will stand up and tell scum like Ortega to go pound sand.
For any Haitian that says similar tell them fine, all our military will leave as soon as one of their prefered occupiers shows up with the kind of help ONLY the US military can provide.
If the Haitian gov't says similar, pull all our troops and aid out asap and let them starve.
#6
It was my understanding that what was left of the pathetic Haitian government was based at the airport, 'coordinating' relief efforts (which means trying to find and rescue their family and friends first.) And of course they were at the airport because it is the safest place and the closest point to food access. This is the result of years of studying the UN way.
#7
Play4keep ignores that America is constantly asked if not demanded to surrender it sovereignty as it is right now not to obstruct illegal immigration that has and is occurring from Haiti. That's what amnesty is all about, the surrender of American national sovereignty. It about time to push back in the other direction. If we're going to be continuously stuck with those of the lowest rungs of society, then maybe we are also going to exert some control over the problem and do the job of fixing it that so many others have failed to do [other than cheap criticism that we fail to attain perfection].
#8
play4keeps isn't even an interesting troll. Hit the "ignore" button
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/18/2010 8:40 Comments ||
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#9
We'll keep play4keeps around for most of the day so that newbies understand what a really schtupid troll looks like.
As to 'owning' Haiti, 90% of the Haitians would be better off if we did take the place over. Within a generation everyone there would have running water, proper sewage, electricity, primary schools, and jobs; the people then would spend their days complaining about global warming, inflation and their 401Ks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/18/2010 11:06 Comments ||
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#10
He Doc, can you get them to take over New Orleans so we can have proper sewage, schools, jobs etc. and can just complain about our 401(k)'s?
#11
New Orleans could but won't because of who's in charge.
In 1994 President Clinton intervened in Haiti as a wave of illegals were overrunning Florida [and the mid-term elections were near at hand]. We went in, removed the dictator and government that was dumping their population to avoid reform and revolution [pay attention Mexico] and then papered it all over by turning it over to the UN to 'fix-up'. That was 16 years ago.
Eight years ago we intervened in another country to remove a dictator and his cronies who were a threat to their neighbors and had been for a while. In those eight years, not only were the thugs removed, an insurgency defeated by the regime hold outs and Al Qaeda, but the country was rebuild from the shambles of mismanagement and the war. One hell of a comparison of results.
That recovery wasn't run by the Ivy Leagues, the Berkelites, the State Department or the UN. It was run by people that wore uniforms and understood what service not personal opportunity meant. That's why the governing class wants to bury the story. They can't deliver. However, someone else without all the connections and fancy paper could. It's an anathema to body politic to turn it over to them in order to do it right. Its an anathema to them because they don't really want the power.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/18/2010 12:44 Comments ||
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#13
Eric, very nice, so true.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/18/2010 13:14 Comments ||
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#14
Crosspatch, what do you have against the Dominican Republic? They're a liberal democratic republic these days, and almost first-world in comparison with their Hobbsian neighbors to the west. They don't even speak the same language. The DR was the Carribean's great Eighties success story.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/18/2010 16:40 Comments ||
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#15
No problemo Danny Boy. Next time Americans can stay home and watch it on TV.
Posted by: ed ||
01/18/2010 16:43 Comments ||
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#16
Crosspatch, what do you have against the Dominican Republic?
Any one who still claims that the trial against Geert Wilders MP, leader of the Party for Freedom (9 seats in Parliament and 27 in the polls), which starts on the 20th of January, is not a political process: get a grip. Accused by the Dutch 'Openbaar Ministerie' Must be their version of a Justice Dept based on content elsewhere
exactly a year ago for insulting Islam, comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf and delivering hate speeches, the coming trial against Wilders suddenly got a Kafkaesque and potentially murderous twist. Finally, seven days before his first day in Court, all fangs were out and faces off.
"It is irrelevant whether Wilder's witnesses might prove Wilders' observations to be correct"
"It is irrelevant whether Wilder's witnesses might prove Wilders' observations to be correct", the 'Openbaar Ministerie' stated, "what's relevant is that his observations are illegal".
On top of this, Paul Vellerman, the public prosecutor of the Amsterdam Court decided that the Wilders trial had to be regarded as "an ordinary trial open for public and with a normal procedure, which doesn't deserve the Department of Justice's highly secured bunker. I think the message there is 'Assassination Welcome'
His is a normal case and we'll treat it as such".
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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"It is irrelevant whether Wilder's witnesses might prove Wilders' observations to be correct", the 'Openbaar Ministerie' stated, "what's relevant is that his observations are illegal".
WTF
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
01/18/2010 0:42 Comments ||
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#8
Hopefully Wilders will play this trial like an instrument, and win big time in the court of public opinion, and later, in the polls. He would be wise to pack the "ordinary court" with his followers, if for no other reason than to prevent possible assassins from getting through.
And there is no reason to show a kangaroo court, or its officers, any respect. By this I mean that they, personally, should be put on trial at the same time, so that the public sees their faces, knows their names, and "who they are working for."
The news about suicides in the U.S. military just gets bleaker. I heard something like this on the radio this morning, but not at the radio station (WTOP) news links. Google is my friend.
The Defense Department is expected to report today that the Army last year recorded a record number of suicides by active-duty troops. At the end of November, the number stood at 147.
Earlier in the week, the Veterans Affairs Department reported that the suicide rate among 17- to 29-year-old male veterans jumped 26 percent from 2005 to 2007.
On average, 18 veterans per day take their own lives, officials said. And although there are no statistics, Deborah Mullen, the wife of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, said there is anecdotal evidence of a disturbing trend of rising suicide rates among family members of military personnel and veterans.
All this bad news comes despite stepped-up efforts to encourage military members and their families to seek help if they feel overwhelmed, depressed or unsure of whether they want to keep on living.
"Who's vulnerable? Everyone," said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki at a military suicide prevention conference. "Young and old, outgoing and reserved, male, female, officer, enlisted, me included. Warriors suffer emotional wounds just as they suffer physical ones." If there's any good news, he said, it's that those who seek treatment have fewer suicidal incidents. My former next-door neighbor is an Army Reserve Colonel, whose son took his own life after returning from Afghanistan. They left the area to go back home, and their place here (DC) is in foreclosure.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/18/2010 13:06 ||
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Active duty corpsman, co-worker of Mrs. USN, jumped off Deception Pass Bridge last month. No warnings evident to anybody. Checked out to go to lunch, and then jumped. Witnesses described the impact with the water like a rifle shot.
Just back from SE Asia.
The overhaul of America's intelligence apparatus in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks was intended to break information logjams and ensure that spy agencies traded secrets with one another. It established redundant layers of terrorism analysts to ensure that disparate clues to the next attack would not be ignored or overlooked.
But in the weeks before Christmas, the flaws in the structure were laid bare. No single person or unit was in charge of running down every high-priority tip.
At the National Counterterrorism Center just outside Washington, where specialists can draw on streams of information from more than 80 databases across the government, two teams of intelligence analysts worked on different parts of the same problem. Yet they never collaborated to piece together clues about the Christmas Day attack that were coming in.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/18/2010 15:06 ||
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#1
without credible penalty for failure, or definitive reward for success, individuals in the system will never 'connect the dots'
Posted by: abu do you love ||
01/18/2010 23:35 Comments ||
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LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called on the international community to provide Pakistan more resources to fight terrorism and facilitate development.
We're busy with Haiti right now ...
Addressing a reception for eminent citizens of Lahore at Governor's House, the president said, “We have to persuade the world to give us the resources to take on the monster of terrorism.'
He said this century would “belong to Asia' and the world was looking towards Pakistan.
As an example of what not to do ...
“There is natural instinct in the nation of Pakistan to turn the odds in their favour ... it has been demonstrated by the people and political forces, including the Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League, that they turn their weaknesses into strengths,' he said.
“Time and again, I have asked the world for a Marshall plan for Pakistan, like the one they had for Europe ... yes, they have not agreed as yet, but can I, will I make them agree? I can promise you that one day, they will come to our position. One day, they will realise that the route of all wars in Afghanistan goes through Pakistan,' he said, and assured the gathering that Pakistan wanted to help its neighbours and the region as an active participant in the war on terror.
“But they have to look at the situation with a regional outlook. The problems cannot be solved indigenously by Pakistan or any other country. It has to be a collective effort,' he said, and also called on national political forces to unite against terrorism. He reiterated that Pakistan wanted better relations and improved trade with neighbouring countries.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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Margaret Bourke-White of LIFE magazine wrote this in 1947
In the weeks to come I was to hear the Quaid-i-Azam's thesis echoed by government officials throughout Pakistan. "Surely America will build up our army," they would say to me. "Surely America will give us loans to keep Russia from walking in." But when I asked whether there were any signs of Russian infiltration, they would reply almost sadly, as though sorry not to be able to make more of the argument. "No, Russia has shown no signs of being interested in Pakistan."
This hope of tapping the U. S. Treasury was voiced so persistently that one wondered whether the purpose was to bolster the world against Bolshevism or to bolster Pakistan's own uncertain position as a new political entity. Actually, I think, it was more nearly related to the even more significant bankruptcy of ideas in the new Muslim state -- a nation drawing its spurious warmth from the embers of an antique religious fanaticism, fanned into a new blaze.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/18/2010 17:11 Comments ||
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#7
What exactly is Pakistan doing to help Pakistan?
What do you think Sept 11, 2001 was? Pakistan was in a tough spot after the nuclear testing sanctions and the US sided with India over the Kargil invasion. Pakistan's plan to remake the game board worked like a charm.
Posted by: ed ||
01/18/2010 17:20 Comments ||
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#8
IIRC FREEREPUBLIC > THE COLLAPSE/DEFEAT OF NUCLEAR PAKISTAN [Militants] MAY LEAD TO WORLD WAR III. "Great Powers" milpol confrontation over spread of Militant Terrorism beyond AFPAK throughout CENTRAL-SOUTH-EAST ASIA, to include NUKE = ADVANCED NBC-CBRN TECH PROLIFERATION to Militant Groups.
LAHORE: The United States has no desire to play the mediator for resolving outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, New Delhi's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on Sunday, The Hindustan Times reported.
You kids settle this between yourselves ...
In an interview with CNN-IBN host Karan Thapar in his programme The Devil's Advocate, Rao said US President Barack Obama had assured New Delhi that he had no desire to play a mediatory role in resolving the Kashmir dispute.
“President Obama and the American administration told us over and over again that they have no desire to play a mediatory role on issues concerning India and Pakistan,' Rao said.
She also ruled out chances of Washington linking Kashmir to the unrest in Afghanistan. “I am not worried about that because the US is fully sensitised to our concerns on these issues.'
Admitting that dialogue with Pakistan was the way forward for normalisation of relations and for resolving all outstanding issues, the Indian foreign secretary said Pakistan must first create the right atmosphere for dialogue. “Dialogue between India and Pakistan is obviously the way forward for normalisation of relations. We in India have never turned our back on dialogue with Pakistan,' she said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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DAWN.PK > PAKISTAN ACCUSES INDIA OF "UN-PROVOKED" BORDER FIRE; + JIHADIS AT THE GATES OF PAK NUCLEAR BASES [Shaun Gregory > US ProfPert-Spokeman for US Think-Tank CFR]. US EXPERTS greatest fear is an "INSIDE JOB", i.e. betrayal by highly-trained, employed PAK Perts or successful pro-MilTerr Member(s) penetration of PAK NUCPLEXES = EMPLOYEE POOLS.
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the London conference on Afghanistan, the British roadmap for an exit strategy has unnerved policymakers both in India and Pakistan: while New Delhi considers the return of the Taliban inimical to its interests, Pakistan does not want a repeat of the 1988 Geneva agreement that allowed Soviet troops to withdraw without addressing Islamabad's security interests.
British Special Envoy on Afghanistan Sherard Cowper-Coles, who was in the region last week, was told by both Indians and Pakistanis that they would not support an exit strategy until their “genuine security interests' had been addressed.
And all Gordo wants to do is skedaddle ...
India has panicked to the extent that New Delhi sent its Military Intelligence chief to Kabul last week to assure the Karzai regime of support in the event of foreign troops' disengagement. While India has so far refused to send troops to Afghanistan, it remains committed to rebuilding the war-torn country. New Delhi is also working on a strategy to strengthen the Afghan Army.
The British plan – which will be tabled at the London conference – calls for the Taliban to share power in the next 18 months with the current regime and the group's members to be integrated into the Afghan Army. With British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's own future hanging in the balance, he must explain the continuing British involvement in Afghanistan. Brown may be pushing the Afghan plan for his own sake, but it could have the secret approval of the US president.
But India fears the British plan would not only translate into heightened militant activity in Jammu and Kashmir, but would also amount to “amending' the Afghan constitution and revising the UN Security Council terrorist list. If the British plan is put into operation, Indian officials also fear it would lead to control of Afghanistan falling into the hands of the Taliban, Pakistan and the ISI.
Fearing that India may oppose their plan, major powers involved in the conference are apparently making it a point to take New Delhi on board – the UK's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan was here this week to explore where India would fit into the plan to be discussed in London; US special envoy Richard Holbrooke is scheduled for consultations here on Monday; the Russian security secretary is expected early next month to specifically discuss Afghanistan; and the US defence secretary is also arriving here next week for talks on Afghanistan.
Pakistan has been resisting the plan primarily because it envisages India joining a regional council on Afghanistan, to be set up after the London conference. It also believes that once the West exits Afghanistan, the Kashmir dispute would be left for India and Pakistan to settle on their own.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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It also believes that once the West exits Afghanistan, the Kashmir dispute would be left for India and Pakistan to settle on their own.
#2
ION INDJUH PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > INDIA DRIVES ITS TRIBALS INTO MAOIST ARMS [ideology + desire for armed struggle]. INDIA's Tribals are econ worse off than than the country's BALITS[ formerly known as the "Untouchables" as per India's caste system. INDIA'S TRIBAL HOMELANDS/HEARTLAND SHOULD EXPECT A BLOODBATH.
* SAME > INDIA FACES THREAT OF ANOTHER 26/11 [Taj Hotel, MUMBAI Incident], LIKELY TO ACT MILITARILY IN RESPONSE, SAYS LEADING US THINK-TANK CFR. ARTIC > indics that NUMEROUS PAK = AFPAK MILITANT GROUPS [not only AL QAEDA] remain highly motivated to attack or strike at targets inside India despite thier fight agz US-ALLIED Govts-Forces in Afghanistan or Pakistan - AL QAEDA PER SE MAY RE-DIRECT ITS FOCII TO LAUNCHING TERROR OPERS, INCLUD SUICIDE BOMBINGS, AGZ INDIA IN ORDER OT PROVOKE INDO-PAKI WAR + DIVERT US-NATO MIL RESOURCES + POL ATTENTION FROM AFPAK INSURGENCIES.
* SAME > US: LeT HAS GLOBAL AMBITIONS, READY FOR MASS KILLINGS; + KASAB CLAIMS THREE OF NINE [possibly FOUR?] SLAIN MUMBAI TERRORISTS [Taj Hotel] WERE INDIAN.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] The 600-page document, drawn up by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, declares that attacks on innocent citizens are "absolutely against the teachings of Islam".
The Minhaj-ul-Qur'aan, a Sufi organisation based in East London, which advises the British government on how to combat radicalisation of the Muslim youth, will launch the 600-page Fatwa against suicide bombings and terrorism, declaring them un-Islamic, tomorrow.
It condemns the perpetrators of terrorist explosions and suicide bombings. The document, written by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, declares the suicide bombings and terrorism as "totally un-Islamic". It is one of the most detailed and comprehensive documents of its kind to be published in Britain.
The Fatwa, which was released in Pakistan last month, uses texts from the Holy Qur'aan and other Islamic writings to argue that attacks against innocent citizens are "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam does not permit such acts on any excuse, reason or pretext." Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said: "All these acts are grave violations of human rights and constitute Kufr, disbelief, under the Islamic law."
Radical Islamists will dismiss the Fatwa, but it will be welcomed by many Muslims from the large community of South Asian heritage in Britain, among whom confusion about religious teaching is exploited by extremists seeking to recruit suicide bombers. "Extremist groups start brainwashing the young students from British universities and eventually convince them to oppose integration in the British society," said Shahid Mursaleen, a spokesman for the Minhaj-ul-Qur'aan.
The Fatwa would help fight extremist recruitment of young Muslims and was "one of the most comprehensive verdicts on this topic in the history of Islam", he added. Inayat Bunglawala, the former spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain and founder of the new group Muslims4UK, set up to counter the radical message of the newly-banned Islam4UK and other extremist groups, welcomed the Fatwa.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Not attacks on civilians, but 'innocent' civilians. We've seen this twisted logic before. When it comes to murder, there is always a Islamic justification.
#2
since infidels refuse to accept Islam, they aren't 'innocent'
This variety of dissimulation has fooled countless westerners. I think most Rantburgers are now inoculated don't fall for it but most media biggies, elected officials and the like still fall for it
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/18/2010 13:04 Comments ||
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[Dawn] A video of a Pakistani Taliban leader with the bomber who killed CIA agents in Afghanistan indicated cross-border links between Afghan, Pakistani and Al Qaeda militants, the US regional envoy said on Sunday. Picked right up on that, didn't he?
Special Representative Richard Holbrooke said in an interview in Kabul that "shadowy but unmistakable" links between groups exposed by the video helped explain why the United States and its allies were fighting in Afghanistan. They're not all that shadowy from here. Maybe the light's better?
The video released this month showed the Jordanian suicide bomber posing with Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, before carrying out the Dec 30 attack which killed seven CIA employees, the deadliest strike on the agency in decades. "When people say to us, 'why are you fighting in Afghanistan when the goal is to destroy Al Qaeda and they are in Pakistan?' I think this incident highlights the explanation for what we are doing, because there are some shadowy but unmistakeable connections here," he said. How about: al-Qaeda is in both Pakistain and Afghanistan, primarily in the Pashtun areas. Operations of the Pak and the Afghan "Taliban," along with Hekmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami and the Haqqani Group, are coodinated by al-Qaeda. Pak terror orgs such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Pak HuJI have either been subsumed into al-Q or, if they retain independence -- like Lashkar-e-Taiba -- are acting within the same harness as the "Talibs."
The video could show "the very close links between the Haqqani group, Mehsud, Al Qaeda, and it underlines the rationale for our strategy", he said. "That was a horrifying tape."
"They've all claimed credit for it," he said of the various militant groups with some possible hand in the CIA attack.
Asked whether he had put more pressure on Islamabad to do more in border regions to rout insurgents, Mr Holbrooke said Pakistan's military was stretched "very thin".
"I think they are well aware of the fact that the presence on their soil of the Afghan Taliban and its leadership is not in their own security interests. They know how important this is. They are our allies," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
#1
Mr Holbrooke said Pakistan's military was stretched "very thin".
[Al Arabiya Latest] Former Iraq deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz has suffered a stroke and been moved from jail to a U.S. military hospital, his lawyer told AFP on Sunday.
"He suffered a stroke on Friday and was transferred to a hospital in the U.S. base at Balad," 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Baghdad, said lawyer Badie Aref.
"His condition is serious and they will decide today whether he stays in hospital or should be returned to Camp Cropper," the U.S.-run prison in Baghdad where he is detained.
He can be hanged even if he's gibbering. I bet he can hanged even if he's comatose. In fact, I'm pretty sure it'll still work the same as if he's fully conscious.
A judge on the Iraqi High Tribunal confirmed that Aziz was transferred to a U.S. hospital but said he did not know the nature of his medical condition.
Aziz's son, Ziad Tareq Aziz, said his father apparently suffered a stroke last Friday. He said he was getting his information from another prisoner at the U.S. detention facility where his father was being held.
"It was a brain clot," Ziad Tareq Aziz said. "Today we were told that he has been moved to an American military hospital and that he suffered a second brain stroke that made him lose his ability to talk."
Aref, however, did not specify if the latest stroke was cardiac or neurological.
Aziz was named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991. The 73-year-old turned himself in to U.S. forces in April 2003 after Saddam Hussein was overthrown. Aziz has been convicted for crimes against humanity.
Let's remember that last part ...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party
#1
"Blazing Saddles" comes Immediately to mind where Mel Brooks (Dressed as Quasimodo) was hanging a man in his wheelchair.
Then a man and his horse.
Then Clevon Little as Harvey Korman saved him (Choked on a hard candy laughing) and decided to make Clevon Sherrif.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/18/2010 21:08 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] A senior Iraqi official says an important powerbroker in Saddam Hussein's defunct Baath party, Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as 'Chemical Ali' for his role in gas attacks on the Kurds, will be hanged within days.
"We will receive Chemical Ali from the Americans in the next few days and he will be executed very soon afterwards," Iraq's deputy justice minister, Busho Ibrahim, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
A former spy chief and first cousin of Saddam, "Chemical Ali" was sentenced to death on Sunday for ordering the attack on Halabja, which is regarded by many as the greatest crime committed during the 35 years of Baathist rule. It was the fourth death sentence the 68-year-old has received.
Considered Saddam's right-hand man and bearing a strong resemblance to the former dictator, Ali Hassan al-Majid was a member of the decision-making Revolutionary Command Council and was regularly called upon to suppress rebellions. He was infamous for his role in northern Iraq.
Majid earned his nickname in 1988 when he ordered an airborne poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja that killed over 5,000 people, including many women and children.
On March 16, 1988, Iraqi jets swooped over the small town and for five hours sprayed it with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin, and VX. International outrage meant that Majid did not dare leave Iraq for the following 15 years. Finally, in early 2003, as war with the US looked increasingly likely, he visited Syria and Lebanon in an attempt to drum up regional support for Iraq.
In March 2003, Chemical Ali was appointed to head the southern region -- one of four senior commanders reporting directly to Saddam Hussein.
A month later, British officials said they believed he had been killed in a coalition air strike in the southern city of Basra. But in June, then US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld conceded that he did not know whether he was dead or alive.
Two months later, US military officials announced that they had captured him. Majid is currently being held at the Camp Cropper detention center on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11135 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party
#3
I'd be OK with them clubbing him to death with rifle butts seconds after we hand him over...if done slowly
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/18/2010 8:53 Comments ||
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#4
That's a good start, Frank, but you need to allow Kurdish women a chance to weigh in. Knives, I think, with each woman who lost a husband, child or parent to have a whack at him.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Islamic system's adherence to keep an "unbreakable connection" between its legitimacy and popularity is the key to its survival, a senior Ahmadinejad official said Sunday.
Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, a senior aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff, said governments around the globe consider efficacy as the sole assurance for their survival.
He said the Islamic system in Iran, however, has based its existence on its efficacy as well as legitimacy and popularity among thenation. Mashaei said the government's popularity was proven when millions of people took to the ballots in June and re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a senior member of Iran's Expediency Council, said in July that the Iranian government is legitimized by "civil and Islamic laws" when it has the approval of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
"Marxist regimes and liberal democratic governments have all failed because they lacked one or both legitimacy and popularity," Mashaei was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as saying.
The chief of staff said the establishment's mentality has allowed Iran to disregard the obsolete, standard political equations and rules in the world and plan its actions differently.
"This is the very reason why since the victory of the Islamic Revolution [in 1979] the powers in the East and West have strategically united against the Islamic system," he said. "They have and will not neglect any opportunity to slow down the significant advancements of the system," including peaceful nuclear energy.
"Whenever a government or an establishment is met with the ire of arrogant countries and the centers of power affiliated with them, it wins the heart of the nations across the globe," Mashaei said, adding that "this phenomenon is obvious in the case of Iran."
Their latest anti-Iran move, Mashaei said, was seen when global powers intervened in the country's internal affairs following the presidential election in a bid to create chaos.
Protests erupted in Iran after the vote with supporters of the defeated presidential candidates raised allegations of vote fraud. The demonstrations on some occasions turned violent and public property was damaged by vandals several times.
Iran has accused the West, in particular Britain and the United States, as well as Israel of orchestrating the riots.
A number of foreigners were arrested after the election on charges of carrying out acts espionage and participating in efforts to overthrow the Islamic establishment.
Mashaei urged officials at the Public Relations departments of all executive organizations to publicize the government's "activities and services" and be wary of the "acts of sedition" that are carried out with the aim of "slowing down" the establishment and the Islamic Revolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
The Islamic system's adherence to keep an "unbreakable connection" between its legitimacy and popularity is the key to its survival...
Hmm. Oddly enough, the senior official quoted appears to have left out the "Oh, and thugs with guns. Lots of thugs with lots of guns." part.
#3
Many salts needed since it is the Iranian Press. Mashaei said the government's popularity was proven when millions of people took to the ballots in June and re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They must have the equivalent of an Iranian ACORN and SEIU. What is Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in Farsi?
A day after an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in Iran's northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province, a provincial official offers more details on the incident.
"Last night's explosion was planned by three boys of about 18 years of age that had adventurous attitudes," said Amirollah Shamaqdari, an official of the province's office of the governor general, quoted by the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
An IED was detonated near the governor general's office in downtown holy city of Mashhad Saturday night, leaving one person, the bomber, dead.
The youth in possession of the IED apparently detonated his explosives after security forces detected something suspicious about the individual and began their approach towards him.
The attacker was critically injured in the explosion and was taken to a hospital, where he died hours later.
Shamaqdari said the bomber has been identified and added, "The three youths had neither political inclination nor an intention to carry out an operation."
He said that they chose the site of the blast "at random".
No other injuries or damages where reported in the blast.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Just some hijinks by some fun-loving kids, probably trying to impress each other or some girls, but had too much beer, and things didn't go right.
#2
"The three youths had neither political inclination nor an intention to carry out an operation."
Boys will be boys. Seems they were too stupid to hold a political intention or even merit an official splody "operation". Must have simply been playing the newest islamist game of that old volleyball derivative "Bombardment" Instead of five balls tho', each player uses his own two balls.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on the Islamic world to exercise vigilance against what he called "the enemies' plots."
In a meeting with a group of Sunni Muslims on Saturday, Ahmadinejad said that the enemies were trying to sow discord among Muslims. He also urged Muslims to unite in the face of such plots.
The Iranian president added that issues such as human rights and terrorism were pretexts used by the West to dominate Muslim countries.
Ahmadinejad also noted that certain powers were attempting to cause divisions among Shia and Sunni Muslims in the country. Condemning such attempts, the president stressed that all Iranians share equal rights.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/18/2010 00:00 ||
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[11136 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Former Iraq deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz has suffered a stroke and been moved from jail to a U.S. military hospital, his lawyer told AFP on Sunday.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A senior Iraqi official says an important powerbroker in Saddam Hussein's defunct Baath party, Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as 'Chemical Ali' for his role in gas attacks on the Kurds, will be hanged within days. 
